Every family that expects moral/ethical results introduces and raises a child in a belief system whether it is religious or secular. Your hypothetical person is entitled to that prerogative, as is my family.
Our values say that the BSA is very wrong to categorically exclude gay people from scouting. That includes my son's beloved uncles who are married and raising a family, that includes our next door neighbors who are married and raising a family, an it includes a number of our family's closest friends.
My very young son will not have the option to join a group that discriminates against those people because it is our home, our values and our resources that would go to support that group. If he wishes to scout, we will explain that and then help him find an organization outside the BSA that does similar activities without discriminating.
Most children join scouts well before they are old enough to make complex moral decisions. The idea that "forcing" a choice of moral conscience on a child that young is wrong is plainly silly. It is the same category of child rearing that everyone makes. We also require him to say "please" and "thank you".
Credits & Style Info
Talk Politics. A place to discuss politics without egomaniacal mods
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 9/8/12 15:16 (UTC)Our values say that the BSA is very wrong to categorically exclude gay people from scouting. That includes my son's beloved uncles who are married and raising a family, that includes our next door neighbors who are married and raising a family, an it includes a number of our family's closest friends.
My very young son will not have the option to join a group that discriminates against those people because it is our home, our values and our resources that would go to support that group. If he wishes to scout, we will explain that and then help him find an organization outside the BSA that does similar activities without discriminating.
Most children join scouts well before they are old enough to make complex moral decisions. The idea that "forcing" a choice of moral conscience on a child that young is wrong is plainly silly. It is the same category of child rearing that everyone makes. We also require him to say "please" and "thank you".